Rangers Report Blog

Hey, just was asked to do a Rangers interview for WGBB radio-1240 AM on Long Island with Eric Merlis at 9:30 tonight.

So if you’re sitting around with nothing to do, and can get that station, give us a listen.

Thoughts as we approach the crack of noon:

1) Way, way too much is being made of Sausage Lips’ slew foots. Yes, he should have gotten a penalty vs. Callahan. No doubt. And I imagine that if Callahan hadn’t been called for interference he might have gotten up and slugged him. Then Sid the Skid did it to Sean Avery. You can’t cry about that one because A) It’s Avery, and he might have done that sort of thing once or twice in his career and B) Crosby got the penalty (the league must have spun on its head, Crosby getting a penalty against Avery).

2) Yes, he’s got some dirty in him. So what? Tell me you wouldn’t love for Gaborik to have an edge? And I’m not comparing Gaborik to Crosby. Also, the Penguins team plays with a lot more nasty than they have in the past. And we haven’t even gotten to that piece of Cooke.

3) I agreed with Tortorella and the players that the effort wasn’t bad, and the performance looked worse than it was because of what they gave up so quickly in the second, and because it was the Penguins on a roll. But I didn’t think the Rangers had the puck in the Pitt end nearly enough.

4) Are we starting to see a trend of paybacks on Avery? Tootoo was way too happy to fight him the other night, and this kid last night just jumped Avery.

5) Alex Frolov. I’m not saying he’s Zherdev or Kotalik or Lisin yet, because he doesn’t coast or float, and because he has some size and goes in traffic, and because he’s pretty decent defensively. But if he’s not going to start scoring, and soon, he has to find a seat, right?

6) We have all been wondering who comes out when Chris Drury comes back, and what effect his return will have. Well, last night was a perfect examle of how badly they need him, especially on faceoffs, and how much better he is than several players in the current lineup.

7) Faceoffs were so bad, I thought they might just let Pittsburgh start inbounding the puck from behind the goal line, like basketball.

8) I’m going to go ahead and say it, even though I have a hard time believing it. The Rangers are a better team with Boogaard than without him. There, I said it.

9) I thought Lundqvist was very good again. Great sign. I wonder if he gets both Islanders games, or which one Biron starts.

10) What’s the NHL record for fighting majors in a season, and can Brandon Prust break it?

John Tortorella:

“I thought we played a really good first period; unlucky goal. Really, for about 8-10 minutes of that second period, that’s where we struggled and they’re a good enough team to capitalize on those situations. We gave up some odd-man rushes. A bad change cost us a goal. So that 8-10, 11 minutes of the second period, that was the worst part of our game. But other than that I thougt we put in some good minutes.”

On the third period:

“We’ve been doing it all year long. We just couldn’t get things done around the net. We had some chances. Some of our best chances we shot wide. We just couldn’t finish around the net. So we just keep battling on here. That’s all.”

On the second goal:

“It’s a bad change and we get caught with an odd-man situation.”

“In that middle stanza, the middle part of the second period, we’re too deep with our third guy. We’re trying to crawl back into it, trying to force them, and they did a lot of flipping and flying the zone. And they in-directed a lot of pucks. They’re a pretty good team and we lost our third guy there on some pinches and I thought we over-committed where we were three flat in their end zone and they just threw it by us.”

“They’re a good hockey club. They’re on a run. Their goaltender’s been playing well, so you give them credit. They’re a good team and they’re oportunistic. Where they had chances to get us, they got us. And I thought they defended pretty well, too.”

On Gaborik’s performance:

“I’m afraid to say anything about Gabby’s game because it turns nutso around here. So we’ll just generalize as far as the team. I’m not going to talk about individual players. He scored a goal, eh?”

On the line juggling.

“Some guys are fighting it. Some guys I thought were playing better than others, so we switched them It happens.”

From the Rangers:

NEW YORK RANGERS POST-GAME NOTES AND QUOTES

November 29, 2010 – New York Rangers 1, Pittsburgh Penguins 3 (Game No. 26, Home No. 13)

•The Rangers were defeated by the Pittsburgh Penguins, 3-1, tonight at Madison Square Garden, and are now 14-11-1 overall with a 5-7-1 mark at home.  New York is now 4-2-0 in their last six games.

•The Blueshirts wrapped up their November schedule with a 9-7-0 record in 16 games, the most for New York in a month this season.  The month included four back-to-back sets, in which the Rangers posted a 6-2-0 mark overall with a 4-0-0 record in the second game of the back-to-backs.  Last season, the Rangers played 16 games in January, and posted a 6-7-3 record during the stretch.

•Brandon Dubinsky led the Rangers in scoring with 11 points and seven goals during November, while Dan Girardi tallied a team-high, seven assists.  Henrik Lundqvist posted a record of 5-6-0 with a 2.54 goals against average, a .915 save percentage and two shutouts in 11 November appearances.  Martin Biron was 4-1-0 with a 1.83 goals against average and a .930 save percentage in six games during the month.

•New York held Pittsburgh scoreless in one power play opportunity (2:00), and has now yielded just four goals in their last 14 games for a 91.3% success rate (42-46).

•Marian Gaborik notched the Rangers’ only goal at 16:19 of the second period in his return to the lineup after missing Saturday’s 2-1 shootout win at Nashville with the flu.  He has now registered nine points (five goals, four assists) in his last nine games.

•Michal Rozsival registered an assist and was credited with four hits in 24:54 of ice time.  He now ranks second among team defensemen with seven assists and nine points on the season.

•The Blueshirts tallied 39 hits in the contest, led by Ryan Callahan (five), and had five players credited with four hits apiece – Michael Del Zotto, Brandon Prust, Sean Avery, Brian Boyle, and Michal Rozsival.  Callahan entered the contest ranked second in the NHL with 97 hits.  The Rangers lead the NHL with 776 hits on the season, including a league-high, 469 hits at home.

•Erik Christensen led the team with 10 faceoff wins in 16 attempts (63%) while skating in his 300th career NHL game.  Now in his sixth NHL season, Christensen has registered 53 goals and 80 assists for 133 career points.

•Henrik Lundqvist stopped 34 shots in net for the Rangers and is now 9-9-1 on the season.  Lundqvist has posted a career record of 17-13-4 in 34 career regular season appearances vs. the Penguins.

•After an off-day tomorrow, the Blueshirts’ practice schedule for Wednesday, Dec. 1, is 11:00 a.m. at the MSG Training Center.

•The Rangers will return to action on Thursday, Dec. 2, when they will face-off against the New York Islanders at Nassau Coliseum (7:00 p.m.), in the first game of the Rangers’ only home-and-home set of the season.  The contest will be televised live on MSG Network, and can be heard on 1050 ESPN Radio or at MSG.com.

POST-GAME QUOTES

John Tortorella on tonight’s game… “I thought we played a really good first period – unlucky goal.  Probably with eight, 10 minutes left in the first is where we struggled.  They are good enough to capitalize in those situations.  We gave up some odd man rushes.  Other than that, I thought we put in some good minutes there.”                                                                                   

Henrik Lundqvist on tonight’s game… “We talked about it this morning – he (Sidney Crosby) is a good player.  He will draw a lot of attention.  We had a stretch in the second period where they came hard.  I thought in the first and especially in the third period that we played really, really well.”

Ryan Callahan on tonight’s game… “I thought we had a strong first period.  It was unfortunate they got one (goal).  Other than six minutes we played a pretty good first period.  Obviously we need to capitalize on our power play late in the game in the third, but overall we just had to finish those six minutes in the first.”

Players first, then Tortorella.

Marc Staal:

“We weren’t great at the start, but that goal hurts a little bit, obviously. I mean, it takes a bounce off Feds’ glove, I didn’t know where it was, and I don’t think he could have played it (because) it was in my feet. They end up throwing it at the net and it goes in. But it wasn’t anything we couldn’t overcome.”

On the second goal being an example of how dangerous Crosby is.

“Yeah, he’s a good passer. We kind of got caught there, I think we were changing, or we just kind of let the D cruise through us and get open. But he looks like he’s going to shoot it and he ends up passing it. It was a nice play.”

On defending him:

“The second period there, a lot of their lines were getting 3-on-2s, 2-on-1s. We corrected that in the third. But when you do that, even for a little spate of time, they’re going to hurt you. Obviously, Crosby’s included in that. If you give those guys room, they’re going to make plays.”

Brandon Dubinsky:

“Our forwards have to make sure they come back and put some back pressure on them and let the D know that they can stand in there. Likewise, the D have to make sure they take a look at the forwards, where they are, before they decide to stand in there. You know, it’s a two-way street. We’ve got to make sure we come up and down the ice as a five-man unit and for that stretch (in the second) we didn’t and it cost us with a couple of goals.”

“Fleury came out and played the puck a lot. We’ve got to make sure we have good dumps and put the puck in positions to get it back. A few times that we did it we got some good chances around their net, and the times that we didn’t, the times that we just gave it to him, he made a good outlet pass and they just came right back down on us.

“But it all night it was a bit of a ping-pong match. They had a few chances and a few shifts in our zone, and we had a few in their zone. But there was a lot of neutral-zone play and we’ve just got to make sure that we continue to pressure and play that aggressive stuyle. I think the biggest thing for us, you know, cycling’s great, but we’ve got to take some of those pucks to the net and try and jam away at a few. I thought we did that in the third. … We’ve got to make sure we do that for 60 and not for 20.”

On the PP:

“I think that they pressured hard, but it was nothing that we weren’t ready for. It’s a matter of executing. We’ve got to find a way to bury one of those. I’ve said it before in the same situation as this: We’ve got to find a timely goal from our power-play and our best guys out there, or at least get some big chances and some momentum, and we didn’t find either of those.”

On Crosby’s slew-foot against Callahan:

“He did it again and got called for it. We just have to keep him honest and play him hard between whistles and not focus too much on one person. I don’t think he was the difference tonight. We beat ourselves a little bit and they got some goals from a couple of their other lines that hurt us.”

Asked again about the slew foots:

“I’m not going to sit here and talk about him anymore. I’m not even going to address it. That’s all.”

Henrik Lundqvist:

On Crosby’s slew-foot.

“I didn’t see it, so I can’t really comment on it. He gets a lot of attention and he;s a great player. So as long as he can take some hits, too, it’s fine. It’s hockey. It will be a couple of things here and there that he might think are rough. Like I said, I didn’t see it so I can’t comment on it.”

On the heavy November schedule.

“It’s been busy. We were hoping to finish strong here with a good win, but they were good.”

“It’s the last game of the month, we want to finish strong, it was a great challenge for us. I don’t know if we approached it differently. It was not hard to get ready, I think. You play one of the best teams in the league and we had an emotional game last time we played them, so everybody’s ready to go.” 

On whether a game like this changes his view of his team.

“I feel really good about this team, about how the guys show up every night. We work for each other and stand up for each other and I think everybody feels the same way. We’ve had some good road trips where we spend a little more time together and that’s great, too, I think. It’s been a busy month, but we’ve done a pretty good job. It’s been a lot of hockey. I feel good about this team.”

Still no official word on Gaborik (flu), but he skated in warmup and probably will play. Derek Boogaard remains out with a shoulder injury.

The red-hot Penguins  haven’t lost since the Rangers beat them two weeks ago.

Henrik Lundqvist opposes Marc-Andre Fleury.
—————————
By the way, did you see that it took a few swipes of the wrecking ball to even dent the Spectrum when it was being demolished last week?

My friend Mike Vaccaro (to whom I simply refer  as the best sports columnist in New York) had this story in the Post.

As you surely recall, the Rangers did not get a single power play in the game the last time they played the Penguins, the first time in almost two years that occurred.

As you also recall, Henrik Lundqvist put the Rangers short-handed late in the game by destroying his stick and flinging it toward the referees after giving up the go-ahead goal.

And that the Rangers (Marc Staal) actually scored short-handed to tie the game late, then won it on Ryan Callahan’s OT goal.

But, according to Andrew Gross, what you didn’t know is that John Tortorella called Colin Campbell and Mike Murphy at NHL HQ in Toronto to complain.

Here’s the quote from Andrew’s blog:

“I had major concerns after the game in Pittsburgh,” Tortorella said. “You don’t want to whine in this league about it, but I did have a conversation with Murph and Colie regarding that, not only some of the non-calls against us but some of the calls against us and some of the non-calls against them. But I don’t want that to take on a life of its own. I think, as a coach and manager, you need to be aware of that as the year goes on and if you have a gripe, you talk about it. But we certainly don’t want to get into a situation where we’re going to whine about it all the time.”
—————————
It doesn’t appear there will be any John Tortorella press conference before the game tonight. Marian Gaborik is still, as best we can tell, a game-time decision. But it sounds as if he’s doubtful. And Derek Boogaard remains out.

Hockey seasons are loaded with nights like this, and the Rangers’ season so far has been almost nothing but.

Tests. Barometers. The Minnesota game after the Colorado game was a test. The Florida game after the Tampa Bay game was a test. How would they react? And these Rangers have passed most tests so far.

Tonight is a barometer game, against the Penguins who have figured it out lately, with six straight wins, and against Sid Crosby, your buddy, who has 25 points in a 12-game point streak, and who had the hat trick Saturday, which by the way included his 200th career goal (earlier I incorrectly had it at 300. Ooops). And you know, he kind of has this new rivalry going with Henrik Lundqvist and Brandon Dubinsky.

It’s a barometer, also, because the Rangers beat the Penguins two weeks ago, in that game that had those huge emotional swings at the end—the Rangers blowing a lead, falling behind, tying it on Marc Staal’s short-handed goal and winning it on that beauty of an OT goal, from Dubinsky to Ryan Callahan.

So, well, I’m kinda interested and excited to see how this one plays out. I’m headed to MSG later on, so we’ll do the full monty here at RR. I’m guessing Marian Gaborik will be back from the flu.

Meanwhile, here are the pre-game notes, from the Rangers:

NEW YORK RANGERS vs. PITTSBURGH PENGUINS
Monday, Nov. 29, 7:00 p.m.
Madison Square Garden • New York, NY
Rangers: 14-10-1 (29 pts)
Penguins: 15-8-2 (32 pts)

• All information through NHL games on Nov. 27

  TONIGHT’S GAME:
  The Rangers will face-off against the Pittsburgh Penguins at Madison Square Garden (7:00 p.m.), in their fourth game in six nights. The Blueshirts currently rank third in the Atlantic Division standings, and sixth in the Eastern Conference, with a record of 14-10-1 (29 pts). The Rangers enter the contest having defeated the Nashville Predators, 2-1, in the shootout last night at Bridgestone Arena for their second consecutive win, and are 4-1-0 in their last five games. The Penguins enter the contest with a 15-8-2 (32 pts) record to rank fourth in the Eastern Conference, and have won six straight games since losing, 3-2, in overtime vs. the Rangers on Nov. 15. Following the contest, the Rangers will begin a home-and-home set against the New York Islanders on Thursday, Dec. 2, at Nassau Coliseum (7:00 p.m.), before closing out the set on Friday, Dec. 3, at Madison Square Garden (7:00 p.m.).

  (more…)

1) I’m not saying Erik Christensen’s disallowed goal should have counted, but it looked to me that the defenseman, Suter, kicked Christensen’s skate, which may have caused the kicking motion.

2) But then Christensen admitted, twice, on TV, that he kicked it in.

3) Good for the kid to go out and score the shootout winner. He’s a player, as we’ve been told many times, who needs his confidence. And, really, if this is what he does in shootouts, you have to keep him in the lineup, right? But he might want to not kill himself crashing into the post after scoring.

4) Have I mentioned lately what I think of the skills competition?

5) I’m self-imposing a moratorium on my wrath toward MSG promos.

6) I tend to be critical of Marc Staal at times, but please don’t confuse that as anything but this: I think he can be a very, very good defenseman, and I just think there are some little things in his game that he can clean up or change. And I do think he works well on a pair with Michal Rozsival. Plus, from the little I know of him, he seems like a really good kid who has “hockey player” written all over him.

7) I get a kick out of Jordan Tootoo’s “two-two” sign with his hands after fights (and the uniform No. 22).

8) Here’s a tangent. Brandon Dubinsky didn’t score a goal, but MSG’s announcers named him the star of the game, and that was an absolutely terrific choice (nobody would have had a problem if it was Callahan). So here’s my point. One of the great traditions in hockey is the three stars of the game. I think that selection should be made by the TV guys who have a better idea of what players are doing away from the scoresheet. Plus, the writers who now make the picks have their heads down writing and blogging and tweeting late in the third period when the time comes for their vote, and the vote has to be done with a few minutes left, so anything that happens thereafter isn’t reflected on the ballots. I think the TV guys should do it. They’d do it better, and they’re paying attention late in the third, and because they’re talking about the game for the entire 60 minutes, they know who’s doing what without scoring.

9) I know that his career hasn’t yet reflected his selection as the eighth pick in the ‘08 draft, and that he’s slumped this year. But every time I’ve seen Carey Wilson’s kid play, I’ve been impressed.

10) It’s time for opponents to take note about the Rangers: If they’re sleeping at any point in the game, don’t awaken them. Because when the game starts getting snarly, these guys love to play the game. Give Sean Avery and Brandon Prust assists on this win.

11) Best stat from last night: 6-0 on the second of back-to-backs this season.
—————
AP Photo above

from the Rangers:

NEW YORK RANGERS POST-GAME NOTES
November 27, 2010 – New York Rangers 2, Nashville Predators 1 SO (Game No. 25, Away No. 13)

• The Rangers defeated the Nashville Predators, 2-1, in the shootout tonight at Bridgestone Arena to improve to 14-10-1 overall, including a 9-4-0 mark on the road.  New York has now won four of their last five games.  Tonight’s contest marks the first time this season the Blueshirts participated in a shootout.
• Henrik Lundqvist made 29 saves through regulation and overtime, and stopped all three shots he faced in the shootout to improve to 9-8-1 overall with a 7-4-0 mark on the road.  Lundqvist has now posted a career record of 31-21 with a .753 save percentage in the shootout.
• The Rangers are now 6-0-0 in the second game of back-to-backs this season having out-scored their opponent, 18-6, and are 5-0-0 when the second game is on the road. Over the last two seasons, New York is 15-2-2 in the back-end of back-to-back sets, including a 10-1- 1 mark away from MSG over the span.
• Ryan Callahan notched the game-tying goal with 6:56 remaining in the third period, and was credited with three blocked shots in 23:09 of ice time.  Callahan has now tallied two goals in as many nights, having registered a power play goal in last night’s 3-0 win at Florida.
• Erik Christensen recorded the game-deciding goal in the first round of the shootout, and has now registered 19 goals in 36 career shootout attempts (52.8%) with nine game-deciding goals.  His nine game-deciders are now tied for sixth most in the NHL all-time, and his 52.8 shooting percentage ranks ninth in the league all-time.
• Michael Del Zotto registered the primary assist on Callahan’s game-tying goal and was credited with three blocked shots in 18:31 of ice time.  Del Zotto has now recorded three points (one goal, two assists) in the last five games.
• Brandon Dubinsky tallied one assist and led all forwards with 25:44 of ice time.  He leads the team and is tied for 13th in the NHL in road points, having registered 12 of his 20 points this year away from MSG.
• The Rangers held the Predators scoreless in three power play opportunities (6:00), and have now registered a 91.1% success rate (41-45) in their last 13 games.
• Dan Girardi led all skaters with five blocked shots in the contest, and Sean Avery and Brandon Prust tied for the game-high with four hits apiece.  Marc Staal logged a team-high, 27:47 of ice time.

• After an off-day tomorrow, the Rangers will return home to face-off against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Monday, Nov. 29, at Madison Square Garden (7:00 p.m.), in their fourth game in six nights.  The game will be televised on MSG Network and can be heard on 1050 ESPN Radio.